Restoration
by Tiggerola
Summary: Sora and Riku set off to "return to free them from their torment." Three figures are tied to Sora's heart, but how will they find them, free them, and restore the worlds? BBS Spoilers
1. A New Adventure

Authors Note:

This is semi-game style. I have a bulk of the middle material and the end planned out, but I decided to write this as a pick-me-up to finish something, even if a lot is summarized and I'm leaving the fights to your imagination. In other words instead of not finishing this story even though I know the ending, I'm just going to breeze through parts that "I can't think of the next line" that have plagued me from finishing all my other grandioso works.  
{NOTE I'm open to collaboration}

Also, another game, Tales of Symphonia, I admire for choices you make in the game having an effect in the end, so on a small scale, the ending is varied like if you were to make a choice playing a game. It really just changes the subtle shipping hints and so it's not that much extra if you read them all, so I hope that's acceptable. *worried about the 'no choose your own adventure' rule*

Yes there are a couple of OCs, but the only self insertion is occasionally in me narrating XP Their views are not my views (example, I think Aqua is super-awesome even though one of the characters wants to kill her) If anything, Riku gets to be the Mary Sue...er...Larry Stew in this, not the OCs lol

*sigh* Okay, if you're still interested in reading despite all the...unconventional-ness... I do hope you enjoy ^^'

{By suggestion of my roommate, I'll be releasing chapters on a weekly basis (give and take a few days this first month as some life-changing events are occurring) but I'll start out with two chapters since the beginning synopsis is rather short (just pretend you're visiting all the Disney and Square Enix worlds you want to with mini-missions that take up the bulk of the game before getting to the plot lol) and the later chapters are longer.}

* * *

A NEW ADVENTURE

Sora was off on a new quest. It didn't seem that long since he was able to return to the islands with his friends before finding a letter from Mickey, The King. It revealed findings from Jiminy's Journal that there were others that were tied to him that needed his help to be reconnected.

"_We must return  
__to free them  
__from their torment"_

was the message uncovered. Who 'they' were and where they would find them was still a mystery. All they had to go on was there were three of them, and they were tied to Sora. Sora was the key that connects everything.

Now Sora sat in a Gummi Ship with his best friend, Riku, searching for clues about the mysterious trio. Sora insisted he could drive, but he had lost the rock-paper-scissors match over it, so he sat and watched the stars go by as they traveled the worlds.

"Hey Sora, ya gotta keep smiling," Riku said, pointing to the near empty fuel gage, reminding Sora how the ship literally runs on happy faces.

"Well, I don't see you helping out much in that department," said Sora, "I can't smile for the both of us this whole trip, you know!"

Riku laughed in response, "Fair enough."

They searched from planet to planet, asking all their friends if they knew anything about who they were searching for. Still, no one could recall such a 'trio.' The only thing left would be to try and discover new worlds.

While insisting he should have a turn to drive, the Gummi Ship steered into a meteor shower. Riku tried to regain control as rocks kept hitting the ship, but it was too late. The ship had taken too much damage and broke apart. Practically impossible to fly in pieces, they scattered, leaving Sora and Riku to fall deep, deep, into darkness.


	2. Breakthrough

BREAKTHROUGH

Sora awoke in a familiar place, a dark beach. He sat up to find Riku staring out at the waves. He stood, brushing off sand as he joined Riku.

"Ah man, here again," Sora sighed.

"Nice of you to wake up," Riku said, "Think you can get that door to the light to work again?"

"I don't know how I got it to work the first time!" Sora exclaimed.

"Hello, is someone there?" they heard a female voice call out.

Shocked to run into someone in the Dark Meridian of all places, the boys turned. They answered the call and a young woman with short blue hair came into view. She introduced herself as Aqua and they gave her their names.

"How did you get here?" Aqua questioned.

"We fell," Sora replied.

"Oh, I see," said Aqua, hope draining from her gaze, "The same thing happened to me long ago. I can't even remember how long I've been here."

"Well, we were here not to long ago ourselves, so it can't be that long," Sora reassured.

"That is not necessarily so," said a deep voice from the shadows, "There is a lot of space to be covered when one goes searching for a way out."

Sora and Riku looked past Aqua to see a hooded man wearing an Organization cloak. The boys had thought they had defeated all the Nobodies. Sora was on guard, but Riku knew of one other person who would wear the robe...the man who had given him one to wear.

Still, before he could question, there was a roar from up above. They looked up to see the bright colors of a Gummi Ship. The one that belonged to The King. It landed nearby and out popped the familiar mouse.

"Hi everybody!" The King laughed, "I've been investigating theories and searching for a way to get here, I didn't think you'd all beat me!"

"Well, we're sure glad to see you, Your Majesty," Sora smiled.

Aqua interrupted, "Excuse me...but I think I know you...you're...Mickey...right?"

King Mickey agreed, taken aback at first, but then after a while, recognizing Aqua as well.

"Golly! It's been over a decade since I last saw you," said Mickey, "Any luck with your friends?"

Aqua shook her head, "I was hoping you might have some news."

It didn't take long before they figured out that Aqua was one of the three they've been searching for. They also unmasked the cloaked figure to reveal Ansem the Wise, who had slight amnesia.

Mickey had them squeeze into his Gummi Ship (with Mickey side-noting, "Now kids, don't try this at home, you should always wear a seat belt!") so they could help Ansem with his memories as they returned to the realm of light. With his wits about him, he did like the idea of being returned to his home world of Radiant Garden, but was also interested in seeing Kairi, whom he had known when she was a child.

Aqua couldn't stop staring at Sora and Riku during the journey, unaware of the soft smile on her face. Riku finally called her out on it.

"Oh, it's nothing...it's just that...you both remind me so much of..." Aqua replied and then remembered, "I've met you before, haven't I? You were little boys then, but still like then, you remind me of my friends, Terra and Ven."

Sora and Riku exchanged odd looks to see if either knew what she was referring to.

"So Sora, please tell me you were able to keep Riku from the path of darkness," Aqua smiled.

"Uh...sure," Sora averted his eyes and scratched the back of his head.

Both he and Riku blushed, not knowing where Aqua's question had come from.


	3. Another Master

ANOTHER MASTER

After hearing Aqua's story it seemed that Radiant Garden would be the best place to continue their search, since that was where she was last in Realm of Light. Before, she had used her Keyblade to send Terra safely back after they fell into darkness, so hopefully she could find him and her Keyblade there.

Mickey dropped them off then left for Destiny Islands to get Kairi. Aqua stopped them as they walked into the courtyard she remembered last seeing her friend. They looked around, but no clues turned up.

"Well, well, what on earth could you be searching so fervently for?" a voice laughed.

Everyone looked up to see a woman. Her hair had sandy brown roots with faded red tips. Her clothes were modest, but not constraining. Aqua's eyes narrowed as the visitor took a step towards the group.

"Flamma," Aqua addressed.

"Aqua," responded the woman.

"What, you know her?" Sora asked.

Aqua nodded, "She was another apprentice to Master Eraqus. She left the Land of Departure after becoming a Keyblade Master."

"I hear you've become a Master yourself," Flamma said with distaste, "as well as the events that followed and how the loose ties have frayed since then. You really did a number on Master Eraqus's home. And now you don't know to put things back together."

The group stood in silence for a moment. Flamma continued, walking to the center of the group with her vermilion eyes piercing into Aqua's blue eyes.

"You're stupid, I thought you'd put it together by now," Flamma almost laughed.

"I don't appreciate you showing up just to insult me," said Aqua.

Flamma responded with a fake pout, "And after I came all this way to give you a clue."

"A clue for what?" Aqua scoffed.

"What do you want? Honest and truly, what you want deep, down in your heart."

Aqua clenched a fist up to her chest before replying solemnly, "To reunite with my friends."

"And who's that?"

"Terra and Ven!"

"No matter what the price?"

Aqua thought for a moment before firmly replying, "Yes."

Suddenly Flamma's arm was stretched out to the side, Keyblade in hand, pointed right at Riku's heart. Her face was serious and determined, still glaring at Aqua. From behind, Sora called his Keyblade to protect his friend, but soon found another at his chest. Flamma had swung her free hand, crossing under her outstretched one, summoning a second Keyblade.

"What's the meaning of this? Those boys never did anything to you!" Aqua shouted.

"But they hold the hearts of your friends," Flamma explained, "Remember how Master Xehanort took over Terra's body?"

Aqua nodded. Riku's face showed that he just realized something. Sora looked at the others, trying to figure out what Flamma meant.

"Hold on, this 'Master Xehanort' isn't the same one that we fought the Heartless and Nobody of is it?" Sora asked.

"You got it," confirmed Flamma.

Aqua looked confused so Sora explained to her about how Xehanort's Heartless, claiming to be Ansem Seeker of Darkness, took over Riku and tried to get to Kingdom Hearts by unlocking the door with the seven Princesses of Heart. The Heartless was defeated but still lingered in Riku's heart until their battle with Xehanort's Nobody, Xemnas, who was using Keyblades to collect hearts for Kingdom Hearts.

Although according to Flamma, the Xehanort they knew was actually a fusion of Terra and Xehanort, that would mean the Heartless and the Nobody they knew also had a part of Terra in them, just like how Roxas, Sora's Nobody, had a part of Sora and a part of Ventus in him.

She went on to explain how Sora's merger was willing with Ventus many years ago to help make the shattered fragments of his heart whole while Xehanort had forced Terra to merge with him. If what Flamma claimed was true, then for Riku this meant that the Xehanort entity was still inside him. For Aqua it meant that Terra had lost the inner struggle over his heart against Master Xehanort.

"That's impossible, Terra would never loose to the darkness!" Aqua claimed.

"He lost when he gave up his light," Flamma scoffed, "If you don't believe me, check the portrait of the phony, self proclaimed Ansem in Ansem the Wise's study. And there's more proof at the bottom of his secret laboratory where he kept your Keyblade and armor. The pitiful thing is that he would even talk to that armor like you were still there."

Aqua stood in denial. Flamma turned to the boys.

She addressed them, "I'll release their hearts from yours. You need to relax and have faith that I can put you back together again. After all, a heart must be broken and fused back together to become stronger."

"I'm not too fond of becoming a Heartless and having a Nobody run around," Riku said.

"And I've been there before, things can get really messy that way," Sora agreed.

"Perhaps we should wait for a while. At least until we find Aqua's Keyblade and The King rejoins us," Riku suggested.

Flamma looked into Riku's eyes and then Sora's. Her Keyblades disappeared as she dropped her arms down to her sides with a sigh. With the contention resolved for the time being, Aqua stated that they should get her Keyblade since they now knew where it was.

As they walked, Riku asked, "Something still bothers me. Since you seem to know all the answers, why wait till now to show up?"

"Yeah," Sora piped in, "it would have been helpful to know all this BEFORE searching all over the worlds."

"Why? Because Aqua's armor and Keyblade is miles below the sealed up laboratory of Ansem's apprentices. You guys will have to find a way to get in there," said Flamma, holding up a key between two of fingers, "It just so happens, there's something I want there as well."

She twirled the key between her fingers like a baton before clenching it in her fist.

"So your just using us," said Riku.

"You'd have to agree that it is of mutual interest," replied Flamma.

* * *

AN: Next weeks starts the fun stuff! ~


	4. Decode

DECODE

They passed through Ansem's study. Seeing the picture on the ground, they were able to confirm that the Xehanort that claimed to be Ansem was indeed Terra after Master Xehanort took over his body.

They continued to the attached room with Ansem's computer. Flamma pointed out that the platform they could see below was the entrance, if they could unlock it. Sora thought that Tron would be able to, but when he asked the friendly computer program, the search came up negative. While Sora continued searching the computer's data banks, Riku questioned Flamma about how she knew everything.

"You should know how I know, after all you made me like this," Flamma retorted.

Riku looked at her questioningly. Then Aqua asked to be informed on the matter. Flamma rolled her eyes before explaining how Xehanort in Terra's body became an apprentice to Ansem the Wise. He led the other apprentices deep into his research of the darkness, research that needed test subjects. When Flamma was visiting this world, he confronted her and captured her. She was taken off guard since he appeared to be Terra, but the Xehanort in control remembered her well enough to exploit her weaknesses. While imprisoned, she saw plenty.

It was getting late and Sora was frustrated with the empty searches for information on Xehanort's laboratory. They decided to sleep on it. Perhaps Ansem would have better luck when he returned with The King. They found a nice hotel for the night.

Knowing her friend Terra to be inside Riku, Aqua wanted a word with him before bed. Flamma saw them walking to the gardens. She spied on them then placed herself to cross Riku's path as he returned to the hotel. Being suspicious of her, he asked her where she was going. She stated she was going for a walk and invited him to follow her if he didn't trust her. He followed.

After a while, she broke the silence by commenting, "It is rather convenient to have you all rolled up in one like this."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"The master who betrayed us all, the boyfriend who dumped me, and the child who wanted to marry me."

"So it's not me you're talking to, you're always addressing someone from your past."

"They can hear me well enough." Flamma retorted.

"Maybe you should say their names first so they know you are." Riku said with a hint of annoyance.

He followed her a few more steps in silence until she turned to him. She glared into his eyes.

"Hatred...Jealousy...and a little bit of hope. Can you imagine how that feels? That child in you is the only reason I don't kill you on the spot!" She hissed, looking like she was about to attack. Instead, she turned away and took some deep breaths. She continued, "That's rather convenient for you, Master Xehanort, hiding in the kid and _letting_ him take control so you can use him as a shield for survival."

"What is this kid you keep referring to?" Riku said, slightly raising his voice.

Flamma looked back at Riku and pointed at him, "You, Riku. It's you."

Riku frowned. He was practically an adult now, so being called a kid was rather offensive. That would also mean her previous statement suggested that he did not really defeat the power of darkness inside him, which he was quite convinced he had. Then there was that mention of marriage.

After a moment, Flamma looked away and sighed, "I knew you when you were a kid. Before I was captured, I traveled the worlds in search of worthy apprentices. When I was on Destiny Islands, I ended up being your nanny."

"Nanny? I had to have been a baby."

"Between five and six actually."

"Well don't expect me to marry you just because you claim I said that."

Flamma covered up a small chuckle.

"You were just a boy then. I knew the love you had for me was that which a child has for their mother," she said in a warmer tone.

"So why do you remember that about me?"

"Because it was so innocent. Trying to be good, but saying something inappropriate because you didn't know any better," she took a deep breath as she took on the air of a soft sadness, "And even that kind of love meant a lot to me in that trying part of my life."

"And how did you end up being a nanny while searching for apprentices?"

"You had a strong heart. You showed potential. I would have trained you on the Keyblade, but your father wouldn't have it."

These cryptic words left Riku wanting more answers, but Flamma insisted they should be getting back to the hotel.

That night Riku tried to remember anything he could from his childhood. Both Aqua and Flamma claimed that they had met him, and it still bothered him that he couldn't recall either instance. He knew about Xehanort's Heartless, but who was this Terra that was supposedly in there too? He pondered till he fell asleep.

In his dream, he felt small. He felt a large, warm hand stroke him. It made him want to snuggle. He couldn't make out who was holding him, but the person was at least twice his size. It seemed he could stay like that forever. But then he was standing in empty white. A blur approached him, it looked to be Xehanort with brown hair. Instinctively, Riku knew it was Terra.

"She's very strong," Terra warned, "She could destroy Aqua if she wanted to."

Riku could tell he was referring to Flamma. The two didn't seem to think kindly of each other. The Keyblade—an incentive to not act yet. Would she get rid of her after getting into the lab?

"Please, protect her," Terra asked as he passed by and faded out.

The next day, the group returned to Ansem's computer to try to find the lab again. There were a lot of corrupted data files, dead-end searches, and error messages. Later in the afternoon, King Mickey, Ansem, and Kairi found them.

Hearing the discovery, Ansem was shocked that the old lab was still in tact. When he tried to access it, they only found the code had been changed. They tried different codes that they thought Xehanort would use, but nothing work.

Again it got late so they concurred to retire for another night. On their way out, Kairi commented on the mess in the study. Sora remembered how they found the password to the computer there before, so maybe something of the lab would be around too. This thought gave the group hope for the morrow.

Sora and Riku were glad to see Kairi again after all the time they spent traveling, but Sora was so enthusiastic telling about it and Kairi seemed to be listening and responding to Sora anyway, that Riku walked off. He noticed Flamma going for a walk again, so he decided to follow her again.

"Where do you think you're going?" Riku said

"Another walk. If you don't trust me, then follow me." Flamma replied.

"I don't trust you in the least," said Riku, following her.

After some silence of walking, Flamma said, "I know what I'm doing."

Riku replied, "But I don't. You're up to something."

"You have nothing to fear." She reassured.

Riku stopped walking and threw out the accusation, "You hate Aqua for stealing your boyfriend."

Flamma also stopped walking but didn't turn when she replied, "Wow. You really can put two and two together. Or did Terra tell you that?"

"You're trying to get him back like she is. But there's something you're not telling."

She turned and raised four fingers, explaining, "There are four elements to a person: heart, mind, body, and soul. When they separate there's two ways to restore the person. Destroy all the remnants or pull them back together as one. While you and your friends have been dealing with the hearts and bodies, I've taken care of the minds and souls."

"Sora's too?" Riku asked.

"And Terra's and Xehanort's," she responded and walked back to the hotel.

So that's how she planned to do it. Getting rid of Xehanort and Terra would bring them back to their Original selves. Sora was already incomplete, so he would have to disappear completely to come back whole as well. Riku was still whole, so he could be fused back together. The Ansem Reports and Secret Ansem Reports never mentioned anything about recovering from becoming a Heartless or of what was left behind other than a Nobody. So it was a researchers hypothesis versus Flamma's word, but what were her credentials to know these things?

That night, Riku dreamed again about being small and held in loving arms. As his dream self closed his eyes, he saw Terra again in a place covered in green. He was talking to someone about Flamma, sounding complimentary. The serene scene was split by a searing pain as everything went dark. He felt like he was being torn from the inside out, drowning in a wet, black fire until he spotted a small dot of light. He reached for it then swam through the darkness, chasing the light until dawn.

Back in Ansem's study, most of them searched while the others where at the computer. Books and papers didn't seem to give much of a clue, but upon looking at the back side of Xehanort's portrait, they found a canvas pocket with a disc hidden inside. The shape of a paopu was scribbled on the pocket.

Aqua pulled out the charm she had made for herself many years ago when she was still with her friends. She explained how she made matching charms for Terra and Ven as she held it up to the scribble. They looked the same, but the scribble matched the colors Aqua used on Terra's charm. With this clue, they tried the disc in the computer and when asked for a password, tried "Aqua, Terra, Ventus."

After nearly three days of failed attempts, it seemed unreal that instead of an error message, a giant passageway in the floor below opened up. Aqua covered her mouth and looked like she was trying to hold back tears at how the password was something that Terra was more likely to have than Master Xehanort.

"Oh, so that's what you changed the password to...figures..." Flamma huffed under her breath.

Like Aqua, Flamma also looked like she was trying to cover up her emotions as she descended the stairs to the entrance of the lab. There were secrets hidden and now they could be revealed. Everyone followed into the narrow, downward passageway.

* * *

AN: Unlike the cannon of just Heartless and Nobodies being killed in the right order to bring a person back, I'm using four elements. this means there is less chance of things being done in the right order which would leave a lot of people with unhappy endings. So for the physics of this fanfiction reality, order doesn't matter, just when all four parts are gone the Original will come back.


	5. Exposure

EXPOSURE

Down, down, down they went. It seemed like they were walking a never-ending spiral. Ansem shook his head in disbelief of his ignorance that his apprentices kept this place after he ordered them to stop their research on the darkness. Even below the original lab, a deeper room was annexed.

They finally reached the bottom, entering a white hallway. It took a bit for their eyes to adjust after spending so long in their dark surroundings, even if the white seemed dark itself. There were doors along both sides and one at the end. The doors along the side had barred windows, chains, and keypads while the one on the end just had vertical chains.

Flamma took out her key and walked to the closest door to the right. However, before she could insert it, she found a hand covering the hole and pad. A hand that belonged to Riku.

"Aqua's stuff is in the big room at the end," Flamma informed.

"And what's in this room?" Riku asked.

"My apprentice," Flamma stated.

"There are people trapped down here?" Ansem asked in shame, "How far did my apprentices go? What else is kept in these rooms?"

"The Heartless of the members of Organization XIII."

Everyone shouted in surprise.

"So are you going to let all of them out too?" Sora asked anxiously.

Flamma explained "There is a separate key for each door. Xemnas scattered them so even if certain members of the organization learned that their hearts were here, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. But their Nobodies are all gone, you guys made sure of that. If you find the keys and destroy them, you'll restore their Originals. I finally found the key to get my apprentice out, that is why I'm here."

Sora said, "Why didn't you tell us that before? If we knew there was someone being held prisoner down here-"

"You wouldn't have gotten in any sooner," Flamma stated simply, then looked up at Riku, "She's been trapped here for nearly a decade, are you really going to make her wait longer? Or is Xehanort controlling you now?"

To prove he was still in control, Riku removed his hand. She unlocked the door and entered the dark room. They heard the joyous reunion of a master and apprentice then Flamma came out with a girl in dark clothes and long black hair that she introduced as Hina. Hina's greeting was barely audible as she hid behind her master.

After that, the group made their way to the other end of the hallway, peering into the door windows, now knowing what lurked inside them. They couldn't help but wonder what some of the members of Organization XIII who sought so diligently to get their hearts back would have done if they realized the truth of where their hearts were.

The big doors at the end of the hall slid open as the group stood in front of it. Sure enough, there was a throne-like chair facing old armor and a Keyblade. The group entered, looking at the design of the room. Aqua brushed her hand across the armrest, feeling the lingering presence of Terra.

"This looks a lot like the room where I left Ven," she observed.

"That is on purpose," said Flamma, "Organization XIII called that the Chamber of Waking and this the Chamber of Repose. Xemnas would often lock himself in here to talk to his '_old friend_.' Then he had the other Nobodies search all over Castle Oblivion for the other room."

"All this time, Terra was searching for us after all..." Aqua thought out loud.

Flamma sneered, "Perhaps, or perhaps it was Master Xehanort searching for other Keyblade wielders since my apprentice and I refused to help him."

"So is that where we should go next? This Castle...Oblivion?" Sora questioned.

"Oh that's right, Namine did quite a number on your memories, didn't she?" Flamma smirked, "Now you can't even remember the place. Hopefully Aqua remembers how to unlock it if you're ever to get Ven his heart back."

"Oh I remember," Aqua glared at Flamma.

It was late by the time they returned to the surface, so they decided to spend one more night in Radiant Garden before continuing their journey. For now, they opted for Kairi to stay there on her original world with Ansem.

Ansem did express that if they were able to find the keys to the other cells and restore his apprentices' Originals he would be forever grateful. He could only imagine the suffering they had gone through in their deeds.

After most of them had gone to bed, Sora had questions for Aqua about Ventus. He hadn't given it too much thought while trying to help Aqua get her Keyblade back, but now came time where a part inside him needed to be released.

With fire in her eyes, Flamma went out after them, and Riku, knowing how Flamma felt towards Aqua, cut her off. Again, she offered for him to follow her if he didn't trust her. Now that she had gotten what she wanted, Riku knew she was bound to do something so he went with her.

"You weren't always so cold, were you," Riku hinted.

"Whatever are you talking about?" Flamma feigned innocence.

"Who you use to be. From the time you showed up, you've been hostile, but every now and then, a more gentle side peeks out. You have no problem snapping at Aqua, but under that resentment, you have hidden love for your apprentice that you worked so hard to free."

Flamma stood still and looked away, saying, "Hmph...you're better at analyzing than I thought...I could ask you the same thing. Who you use to be and who you are now are different. When life happens, it changes you."

"So what happened to you?" Riku asked. When there was no answer, he continued probing, "Since I met you, things have...awakened...inside of me. I've had dreams that I think are from my past, as well as Terra's. You use to be full of kindness and it seems like you still want to be that way. So why do you hide it with bitterness?"

Flamma remained silent. It was like she was rethinking what she was doing. Riku tried to walk around to see her face and what she was contemplating, but she turned. Silence remained until the stillness was broken by Aqua and Sora coming back from their own walk. Flamma looked up and glared at Aqua, her gaze darkening once again. Meeting her stare, Aqua stood defensively.

"You know what you have to do, but still you won't do it," Flamma growled.

"It's not that simple, you and I are not the only ones affected by this," Aqua defended.

"Then let me show you how it's done!" Flamma's voice raised. Her arm shot up with Keyblade in hand.

Everyone else was on their guard. The way she was acting, one would think that Flamma was about to attack Aqua, but instead she turned her Keyblade on Riku. Their eyes met. Riku could tell that her fierce determination from their first encounter had wavered.

"The King returned and Aqua has her Keyblade, it's time to get this over with," Flamma said.

Sora ran forward, but Riku signaled him to stay back.

"You want my heart?" Riku smirked, "Just try to take it!"

"It's Terra's and Xehanort's that I'm after!"

Flamma pulled back, ready to thrust her blade forward into his chest. She held that stance, taking a few deep breaths. Her Keyblade then vanished as she dropped her arms and bowed her head. She stepped backwards with a sigh.

"I guess in the end, I can't bring myself to do it after all," she said, "I shouldn't have let you break my walls down. That innocent little boy must have awakened something in me too. I can't hit you even if it is for your own good."

Riku responded, "There's no guarantee your theory would have worked anyway."

"Well Aqua, you win," Flamma sighed, "Riku. You asked what happened to me? They turned me into a Heartless. However, that turned out to be the only way I could have gotten out of the sealed lab. But Hina was still trapped inside, left to their devices. My remnants were drawn to each other in the purpose to free her and I became whole again. It's not easy, but it is possible. Still, I can't put you through it. The pain is too terrible."

"I'm not that weak," Riku almost laughed. He had been through a lot in the past. If she really had gone through all that, then certainly he could endure it too.

Flamma looked up with a solemn expression explaining, "Imagine rolling down a mountain of broken glass, being torn in every way. Then placed in a furnace hot enough to refine—to burn out the unwanted specks and smooth the seams back together. This doesn't even compare."

She was serious. Riku recalled the nightmarish part of his dream. It could have been a memory from Terra or Xehanort when they were torn apart. Surely being restored couldn't be that much worse. Then again, if it was easy, there probably would be more known cases of Originals returning in this manner.

"There's got to be another way," Riku suggested.

"Another way?" Flamma thought out loud, "Is there really?"

Flamma's body began to light up in the night air. The spectators scrunched their eyes at the sudden contrast. When the illumination died down, she was gone. Aqua placed a hand on Riku's shoulder, signaling it was time to return to the hotel.

* * *

AN: I'll be gone for the next few weeks so it will be a while before the next part it up, thanks for being patient!


	6. Oblivion

OBLIVION

In the morning, they got ready to leave on an upgraded Gummi Ship. Sora, Riku, Aqua, and the King said their goodbyes to Ansem and Kairi. As they boarded, Hina came wandering out. When Sora sensed her blank expression locked on him, he turned and gave a nervous smile. Something seemed familiar, but he shook off the feeling and said goodbye.

"I'm coming too," Hina said.

"But your master is gone...you should stay here for now," Sora encouraged nervously.

Hina shook her head and said, "Master Flamma trusted you guys, I do too."

Riku placed a hand on her head and pushed it back so she could look him in the eye as he explained, "You've been locked up for years without training, practice, or experience. If you came along, you'd just get in the way."

Hina shook her head out of his palm. Bringing her determined fist in front of her, she said, "I also was a witness of the research into the darkness, firsthand! My knowledge may come in handy for you guys."

They looked at each other. It was hard to fathom what knowledge of hers they would need, but perhaps she could fill in some of the holes that Flamma left while they traveled. In the end, they allowed her to join them. The five of them boarded the Gummi Ship and left.

While journeying through space, Sora scratched his head and asked, "I've been thinking, wouldn't your Master Xehanort have a Keyblade?"

Aqua nodded.

Sora continued, "So why didn't he use one against us? Xemnas wanted Keyblades to gather hearts pretty bad."

Hina tilted her head as she recalled, "I think I heard something about him having amnesia when he came to Radiant Garden. And Master Flamma said he lost one of the requirements to wielding a Keyblade so I think that's related. He really wanted our Keyblades, but we promised each other no matter what, we wouldn't help him. And we didn't; even though they tortured us. They made her watch me be tortured and made me watch them torture her...and..."

Hina started shivering as the pains of her past came back to her. Aqua reached over to pat her shoulders, calming her down.

Hina took a breath before continuing, "Failing to comply with them, they made me watch her die. That was probably her lingering sentiment that came back to free me. I really didn't expect to see her again when I woke up today."

They didn't know if they'd see Flamma again or why she really left, so if Hina had accepted them parting ways, it was best to leave it at that.

Sora thought some more and realized, "So wait! The Organization wanted our Keyblades to create Kingdom Hearts for them to have hearts again, isn't that right Riku?"

Riku broke his gaze from out the window to look at Sora, "Hmm? Oh yeah..."

His mind was obviously somewhere else, but Sora was too absorbed in his theory to notice.

Sora continued, "But if all their Heartless were locked up in the lab—isn't that all they needed?"

Riku opted not to mention what Flamma had said about minds and souls; it would probably confuse Sora too much. Also, there really wasn't need since Flamma probably had taken care of the former Organization's minds and souls too.

"Maybe Xemnas lied to them so they would go along with his plan," he suggested.

"Oh I guess so, I mean, he did kind of lie about his name too, didn't he?" Sora said.

Riku shrugged and looked back out the window. Sora scratched his head some more.

"Just what exactly _is_ Kingdom Hearts?" Sora thought out loud.

They pondered over what Xehanort's true goal could have been as they neared their destination.

Meanwhile, the sun roasted the barren wasteland of the Keyblade Graveyard. A figure walked across the war worn wreckage. Going through streams of Keyblades until coming across a blade that looked like two blades crossed. It was highly damaged, but of interest enough for the figure to reach down and pick it up.

Back on the Gummi Ship, Mickey spotted their destination and landed. They had arrived at the eerie place of Castle Oblivion. Aqua led them into the castle maze. Inside was a puzzle that none from Organization XIII could solve, but responding to Aqua's presence the way was clear.

They entered the Chamber of Waking. It was similar to the Chamber of Repose but the white was brighter and purer. The chains in the floor and walls were a lighter blue instead of black. Still, there was a throne and on this throne sat a familiar looking body. Even though it looked a lot like Roxas, Sora had a feeling inside that told him that it was Ventus.

Aqua summoned a black, silver-handled Keyblade, different from the one they found in the secret lab.

"This belonged to my master, Eraqus," she explained and held it up to a keyhole.

A stream of light shot from the Keyblade into the keyhole. Their surroundings shifted as Castle Oblivion was restored to The Land of Departure. The Chamber of Repose morphed back into the throne room that it once was. Silver tones melted into a blazing gold as sun showed through stain glass windows. Sora, Riku and King Mickey were awed by the vast transformation.

"Times have gotten better since I sealed this world up," Aqua commented, "Thank you, Sora, for fighting against the darkness."

"Sure, no problem," Sora smiled sheepishly, "So, I guess now we can bring your friend back?"

"I'm not sure I can. I don't want to hurt you or Ven," Aqua said, averting her eyes.

"Don't worry about me, I've been a Heartless before. I can make it back," Sora encouraged.

"It won't be the same this time, Sora. Did you forget that you've unlocked your heart before to free Kairi's? Why do you think Ven's didn't come out too that time?" Riku pointed out.

Sora shuffled his feet and said, "Right, I forgot about that..."

Hina made a peep, "A merger?"

"Oh yeah, you wouldn't know any way to undo one of those, would you?" asked Sora.

Hina tilted her head to think, "If I could distinguish the two hearts, then I could probably separate them...but I don't know how either of you use to be."

"Aqua, you remember everything about Ven, don't you?" asked Sora.

"Of course I do," Aqua replied.

Hina turned to Aqua and explained, "Then you can carve into Sora's heart down the fine line that distinguishes between him and Ven."

Aqua still seemed hesitant, but Mickey suggested that she could take some time to think over all her memories of Ven. It was getting late anyway, so she agreed. Since they would end up spending the night, Aqua led the group to the bedrooms. She let Mickey use Eraqus's room, Hina use her room, and Sora use Ventus's room.

Riku entered the room Aqua showed him. She stood in the doorway and slid her fingers down the frame as she looked around and reminisced.

"This use to be Terra's room," she said.

"Yeah, thanks," he replied.

He turned and saw her worried face. He felt something stir inside him and thought of saying something that he probably wouldn't normally.

"Aqua, do you still have your dream?" he was compelled to ask.

Aqua looked at him questioningly and responded, "Huh? Oh...yes..."

Riku continued, "No matter how impossible things seem, a powerful enough dream will always be enough to light the darkness."

"You sound like Terra..." Aqua slightly chuckled, faintly recalling his words for years before.

Riku regained his composure and suggested, "Perhaps now...he's putting his faith in you."

There was a fervent tension in the air that demanded an embrace, but Aqua held back this urge in attempts to appear strong.

"Just like I had put my faith in him before," Aqua said, "Thank you."

She turned and left. Riku walked over to close the door and turn out the lights. He then laid down on the bed and pondered what had possessed him for that brief moment.

When he was close to falling asleep, he heard some noises that alerted his senses. Someone in a nearby room had squeaked their door open and lightly trod down the hallway. After a while, he heard some more distant banging. Since it would be hard to try to sleep while focusing on the noises, Riku figured he should go investigate.

He followed the sounds into a dark kitchen. He could tell the perpetrator was there, crouched in front of the pantry, rustling through the food. He flicked on the nearby switch, revealing the culprit to be Hina with a zoned out gaze.

"It's pitch black in here, why don't you turn on the light?" he joked lightly.

"I feel more comfortable in the dark," said Hina.

Riku could relate. He remembered when he was once in a similar situation. Funny how roles could be switched. He shook his head at her as she grabbed a bag of food and started to chew on the wrapper.

"I suppose you spent a lot of your life in the dark while trapped," Riku said.

"Nom, nom, nom," Hina chanted in affirmation as she continued to chew the package.

"And not much to eat by the looks of it."

Riku walked closer and leaned against a nearby counter. Hina continued to munch on the package like a gerbil. Her dark purple eyes were as blank as a zombie's. Riku smirked and looked around the kitchen. He started thinking while Hina continued to chomp.

Riku began thinking out loud, "You probably don't know about all the effects of a merged heart, do you? Like if the other hearts can take control or strongly suggest you say certain things or act a certain way. Can they send messages in dreams or was my mind just making all that up? Recently, my dreams have been very vivid. What I see, hear, feel, even what I know seems to be clearer. Now, I keep seeing myself as Terra, and I'm holding Flamma in my arms. Then she turns into light and disappears and I'm myself again. It's almost like I killed her...augh! Why am I even telling you all this? You probably don't even know who Terra was."

He looked down into her blank expression, still nibbling on the unopened package. A thin, black lock of hair hung down in her face. He reached to push it behind her ear then retrieved the package from her mouth as he brought his hand back. He tore open the end she hadn't chewed on then handed the snack back to her. Immediately she shoved it to her mouth. It didn't seem like she heard anything he had said after all.

"So, do you hate me for taking your Master away from you?" Riku said half joking and not really expecting a response.

Hina stopped chewing for a moment to think then replied, "Nah. I guess...I'm just sad."

The rebellious lock of hair drifted back over her tilted face, hitting her nose. Again the situation seemed somewhat familiar yet reversed. Riku shook off the weird feeling and grabbed Hina's arm to pull her up to a standing position.

"Come on, you really should be getting to bed," Riku said.


	7. Reinstate

REINSTATE

In the morning, everyone gathered in the throne room around the sleeping Ventus. Hina opened a small pouch she was carrying and pulled out two glowing orbs. The others eyed them carefully as she walked to the central throne that Ven was in and placed an orb in each hand.

"What are those?" Sora asked.

"Containers that Master Flamma gave me before she left. They hold the mind and soul of Ven...they should help Master Aqua tell what part in your heart is Ven," Hina said.

Sora questioned, "Mind and soul?"

Riku explained what he had learned from Flamma. Although it was strange that there apparently were containers that could hold them. Odder still that they had only been used on Ven's remnants and not for Sora or Terra or anyone else. Still things were set up. Aqua brought out her Keyblade, ready to start.

Hina urged Sora, "Look inside yourself, see if you can sense Ven so both of you can guide Aqua's blade."

Sora nodded and closed his eyes. Aqua took a deep breath before raising her Keyblade. She looked at the encouraging faces of her friends. With a nod, she inserted her blade into Sora's heart. She also closed her eyes to concentrate. The Keyblade grew warm and gave off a soft glow as it did its work.

A bright sphere encompassed Sora's torso. It looked like it squeezed and pulled around him, until there were two cores and the ball of light split into two spheres. The spheres ascended while Sora's body faded away. One of the bright spheres came back down towards Ventus. The two orbs in his hands lifted into the air and the three balls of light circled around him then joined back with him.

Everyone remained silent to see if what had happened worked. Slowly, Ventus opened his eyes and breathed a deep yawn. Excited, Aqua ran to him and embraced him.

"Ven! You're alright!" she exclaimed.

Ventus was slightly stunned at first, but after the shock he returned the hug.

"Yeah. It's good to see you too, Aqua," he said.

They looked at each other sheepishly until Ventus stood up and Aqua introduced him to the others.

"I guess...now we get Terra back," Aqua said.

"What about Sora?" Riku reminded.

Some rustling could be heard above. Everyone looked up to see a shadow like figure crawl across the vaulted ceiling. Scampering towards the main entrance, it jumped just past the balcony. The group rushed down the stairs to catch up with the creature. No one saw anything down there, but Hina looked up and tapped on Master Aqua's arm. Aqua saw where Hina was looking and looked up too, the others also caught on that their target was still above.

The dark figure was on the edge of the balcony. It looked like a silhouette of Sora hanging on by a shoe. Apparently when Ventus's heart was released, Sora's turned into his Anti Form. Riku summoned his Keyblade, but Aqua grabbed his arm.

"Riku! He's your friend!" she shouted.

"It needs to be destroyed," Riku explained but lowered his arm, "it's the only way my friend will come back."

"Can't we just get his Heartless and Nobody to go back together?" Aqua suggested.

Riku sighed, "He wouldn't be whole, Flamma already destroyed his mind and soul."

Sora's Heartless fell to the ground in front of the group. It shifted to one side and then the other, its yellow eyes gazing up at them. King Mickey stepped forward to try and comfort it, but it took off running, using three of it's four appendages. The group chased after it down the corridors of the castle.

In the chase, they ended up splitting up, trying to finds where Sora's Heartless went. Ventus was searching near the bedrooms when he heard noises coming from his room. He went in to find the hostile Heartless climbing up his walls. It jumped and climbed up again, by the angle of it's jumps, it looked like it was trying to get the model boat that hung from the ceiling.

"Is that what you want? You use to have one too, didn't you?" Ven asked the shadow.

He was able to recall some things from when he was merged with Sora, including Sora's boat that had the play figures inside. He remembered that Sora thought of those figures as him and Kairi. Before when their merged hearts were a Heartless, Kairi had been the light to lead them back; so maybe Sora's Heartless was trying to find a light to make his way back again.

Ventus stood on his tiptoes to unhook the boat and hand it to the Heartless. Sora's Heartless sat on the ground in front of Ventus and accepted the gift. It shifted the boat around and started to investigate the compartments it had.

"I kinda know how you feel...you are not suppose to exist like this," Ventus empathized.

Sora's Heartless started banging the boat on the ground. It circled around it and prodded it. Even though the boat held its interest, nothing seemed to come from it. Again, the Heartless pried its shadowy fingers through one of the miniature doors. After some squirming, it brought its hand back out, holding something. It handed the object back to Ventus then continued playing with the boat. Ventus looked at what the Heartless had given him.

"A key, huh? I don't know how that got in there, but thanks," chuckled Ventus.

"That looks like one of the lab keys..." Hina softly said from behind.

Ventus fumbled the key into his pocket and said, "Oh...hi, um...you look, strangely...familiar."

Disregarding Ventus's reaction, Hina continued, "It probably got left here by the Organization when it was Castle Oblivion. Sora is trying to reunite all friends is he not?"

Ventus said, "Yes. It's kind of his way of saying thank you."

"You know what you have to do...but, you don't have to do it alone," said Hina.

Ventus recalled, "Right...things my mind learned while I was separated."

His mind had gone to where it learned truths of the body, heart, mind, and soul. When the Princesses of Heart had their hearts stolen, their minds and souls remained with their bodies. When Kairi left her body, she had put her heart, mind, and soul into Sora's heart. This made a complete merger more difficult yet easier to free her parts when Sora unlocked his heart, allowing Kairi and the other princesses to come back whole.

Ventus didn't loose his heart to become a Heartless, but because it was wrecked from destroying the χ-blade that he had unwillingly formed with Vanitus, he was a special case. A case like Kairi and the other princesses where being restored was not so painful. For normal cases, it was either dying four deaths, or indescribable torment.

Ventus stated, "Sora will come back."

Hina nodded and Ventus gave a weak smile. He summoned his Keyblade and held it behind him, backhand style. In order to reassure himself that he was doing the right thing, he recalled the time when he had asked his own friends to put an end to him.

At this point, Sora's Heartless was rocking the boat back and forth, unaware of the conversation going on around it. It also failed to notice Ventus lift his Keyblade over it.

Riku and Aqua crossed paths down a silent hallway. They agreed things were too quiet. Soon they reunited with King Mickey too. The trio searched the castle from bottom to top, eventually coming across Ventus and Hina in the bedrooms. Ventus was panting, kneeled in front of a toy boat with Hina patting his shoulder.

Hina looked up at the trio and said, "We need to find Sora's Nobody. Then Sora can come back."

Realizing the others were watching, Ventus composed himself then stood to face them.

"Will he look like you again? That'll be weird to see you both at the same time," said Riku.

Mickey suggested, "Y'know? Now that Ven is no longer a part of him, there is a chance he'll look different."

"Before, Roxas showed up in Twilight Town. There's a good chance that Sora's Nobody will be there again," Ventus theorized.

The group agreed that would be the best place to start looking, so they returned to the Gummi Ship and headed off for Twilight Town.

Meanwhile, on another world, Maleficent was entering one of her claimed castles. She was displeased to find an intruder casually sitting on the bottom of the stairs. It was Flamma with a smug look as she greeted the witch-like fairy.

"Pray tell, what errand does the likes of you have here?" Maleficent sneered.

Flamma leaned back on the stairs and responded, "I hear you're interested in attaining the power of Kingdom Hearts?"

"And what business is that of yours?" asked Maleficent, slightly irritated.

Flamma pulled out the legendary χ-blade: a Keyblade that resembled two Keyblades crossed together. The sight of this caused Maleficent's sinister face to exhibit intrigue. Flamma slowly waved it around while eyeing it to make Maleficent's interest grow.

Flamma said, "Funny little relic that's on equal footing with Kingdom Hearts. It was broken, but as luck would have it, it became good as new as soon as its creator was fully restored."

"And this blade would get me the power of Kingdom Hearts?" Maleficent said in a smooth tone.

"Just get me Riku and I can get you to Kingdom Hearts."

It was all too simple. Maleficent let out a guffaw, but that soon turned into maniacal laughter at the thought of soon attaining Kingdom Hearts and being able to control all the worlds.

* * *

AN: Poor anti-form Sora...he's so cute!


	8. Remnant

REMNANT

The Gummi Ship landed in Twilight Town. Ventus had vague memories of the warm toned surroundings. Feelings of friends and sea salt ice cream, although Ventus never had the latter while being himself. He would defiantly have to buy some with Aqua and the others while here.

Sora's Nobody didn't seem to be hanging around anywhere in town, so the group decided to investigate around the old mansion. Sneaking through the old crack in the wall and weaving through the miniature woods, they arrived at the mansion. Inside and out there didn't seem to be any clues to Sora's Nobody. However, some of them could sense there was a darker force watching them from the trees.

The group stood in the courtyard and debated whether Sora's Nobody was more likely to appear on another world or use the dark corridors to travel somewhere else. They agreed that they should have told Sora a place for his Nobody to go to meet them ahead of time, but it was too late now. All they could do now was search through all the worlds again.

Riku sensed a familiar dark presence walking in the woods, but was distracted when King Mickey pointed up at the trees. Sure enough, there was someone standing on one of the branches, observing the group. It was a young man that looked like Sora but with black hair and gold eyes.

"Vanitas!" Aqua said.

"It couldn't be," Ventus shook his head, "It has to be Sora's Nobody."

"Bravo," replied the Nobody, casually clapping his hands, "Took you long enough to find me."

Ventus could remember clearly his previous encounters with Vanitas, so he found it hard to hold back treating this look-a-like like him. He tried to keep a friendly atmosphere and waved the Nobody to come down and join them.

"Come on down, we can put you back the way you were," Ventus urged.

"Ha. Like I want to hang around you losers," the Nobody taunted.

"Tch. So this is what Sora's really like without a heart? Ven, I think you were a good influence on him," Riku said.

"Come now, you have to admit I'm nicer than you are with a heart. Can you blame me for wanting to stay the way that I am?" said the Nobody.

His statement seemed to sting. Riku's Keyblad appeared in his hand, but before anyone could react, the Nobody started laughing and jumped backwards off the branch. The group took off after him as he fled. Although Hina tilted her head to the side and brought a finger to her chin.

Aqua gave a quick look behind her to see that Hina was standing by herself. She called out to the girl to get her to come along. Hina snapped out of her trance and started to follow the group.

They chased the sound of the Nobody's laugh through the woods and then through town. Mickey's speed seemed to get him closest to catching the Nobody, followed closely by Aqua, then Ventus and Riku, with Hina trailing in the rear.

In the sandlot, The Nobody stopped and waited for them to catch up. Mickey lunged to grab him, but the Nobody easily swatted the mouse off of him. Aqua slightly altered her direction so she could check on the King. The Nobody formed a Keyblade in time to block an attack from Riku.

"Is that all you got? You have to put your _heart_ into it," the Nobody taunted and threw Riku back.

Again the Nobody jumped back and ran off, laughing some more. Riku and Ventus resumed the chase while Aqua helped King Mickey up. Hina was panting when she caught up, so she took a break as the King dusted himself off. Aqua and Mickey then took off again. Hina sighed and looked up at the cityscape. Noting a clock tower to be the highest point, she started walking in that direction.

The next place the group caught up with the Nobody was in the Underground Concourse. This time Ventus had his Keyblade out for attack too. The Nobody casually turned to them with an evil smile.

He chuckled, "Keep in mind that I have all of Sora's memories...I could really hit below the belt if I wanted too..."

They exchanged a few blows, but by the time Aqua and King Mickey caught up, the Nobody ran off again with more maniacal laughter.

"Geeze. If nothing else, I'm going to get him to stop that annoying laugh he has!" Riku growled.

This time, they caught up at Central Station with the Nobody in plain view. He appeared to be having a conversation with Hina. By now, Mickey and Aqua also had their Keyblades in hand. Hina looked past the Nobody to see them.

She called out, "I figured if I got to the highest point in town, I'd be able to see where the Nobody was going..."

The Nobody chuckled and looked around at the group, stating, "Yes but I found her first."

"This ends now!" Riku insisted.

"Oh? But I don't think you're mad enough yet, guess I'll just have to get rid of you all," the Nobody said and turned back to Hina, "So you like high places, huh?"

He grabbed Hina by the waist then sprinted up the building. Her eyes grew blank as she got carried away. Mickey shot off, bouncing between the crevices up the building. Riku and Aqua were close behind, also running to mount the building. Ventus focused his eyes on the Nobody as the distance between them grew. His soul yearned to quickly close the gap, and it had learned a way while it was a remnant.

Cell by cell, he felt his being slip away as it became air. He shot up as the wind itself, quickly closing in on his target. Near the top of the tower, Ventus caught up with the Nobody, halting his ascent at a ledge. Ventus reverted back to his physical form in front of Sora's Nobody. The others drew near while the Nobody tossed Hina aside. He brandished his Keyblade engaging them all in battle. As they fought, he taunted and teased his opponents, coaxing them to give it all they got.

They defeated the Nobody in the end. Riku gave the final blow to finish him off. Everyone took deep breaths after the battle as the Nobody fell back and started to dissipate into darkness. All the Keyblades were put away.

"Who better than my best friend?" croaked Sora's Nobody.

"What?" Riku asked.

"Heh...I'll see you back on Destiny Islands..." were the Nobody's parting words.

It was done. All the remnants of Sora had now been extinguished so he could come back whole. It hurt to go about it this way, but the Nobody had left hope that they'd see Sora again. Sora's Nobody probably realized that he would have to die in order to be born whole again, so he tried to act evil in order to make beating him easier on his friends.

"I don't know about you guys, but that took a lot out of me...we should probably rest a while," Ventus said then looked out at the sunset.

"Golly, Ven. That was pretty neat how you got up here so quickly," Mickey complimented.

"Guess I learned it while I was in pieces," Ventus chuckled.

The others shared the small laugh then joined him in observing the view from the summit.

"The scenery is so breathtaking from up here," Aqua commented.

"Yeah," Ventus gave a soft smile than remembered something, "Hang on everyone, I have to go get something, I'll be right back!"

Ventus ran off before anyone could respond, so Mickey, Riku, and Aqua sat on the edge of the clock tower. Hina regained consciousness and looked up at the three silhouettes. She rose to her knees and crawled over to the ledge.

"I take it that it went well...how was my acting?" she asked.

"So you knew? Your performance would have been better if you kicked and screamed more," Riku said.

Hina sighed, "Oh...I thought since I had been tortured so much, that I could act in trouble well. I always blanked out like that when being hurt..."

"That may have worked for you then, but from where we stood, it looked like you let him take you," Riku explained.

"Oh...but it still worked out?" Hina asked with a hint of hope.

Riku took in a deep breath and released a sigh, "Yeah."

"So he just tried to get us mad so we wouldn't feel bad for what we had to do," Aqua observed.

"Even if it was his Nobody, I'm surprised Sora was able to think that far ahead," Riku chuckled.

Hina pulled herself up to sit on the ledge next to Aqua. Everyone enjoyed the serene scene until Ventus returned with a plastic bag. He pulled out sticks of blue ice cream and handed one individually to each of his companions, then sat on the other side of Hina with the last one. Riku and Mickey started eating while Aqua and Hina just stared at the gift.

"It's sea-salt ice cream!" Ventus explained to the girls.

Aqua took a small bite and winced at the salty taste, but then smacked her lips and continued to eat it like she was enjoying it. Hina looked at her stick skeptically.

Ventus patted her shoulder, "Well? Go on, try it."

"Okay..." said Hina with a bit of hesitation.

She took a bite and sat for a bit. She tilted her head to think of what she thought of it. She pushed back small lock of hair that had gotten in her face.

"It's sweet. But kinda salty, too," she observed.

Ventus gave a content smile at the warm familiarity of eating ice cream with friends. It held a faint element of déjà vu. He couldn't quite recall the memory, but it seemed like a good one.

"It's really good, right?" he asked, "Although...I guess this is the first time I've had it myself."

Aqua laughed, "It's fine, Ven."

"So we'll find Sora on Destiny Islands now?" asked Riku.

Ventus thought over what his mind had learned when being a remnant, "Well, with a merger, the Original appears where the merger takes place. When a remnant is destroyed, it is like it shifts into an alternate dimension. It can do little more than exist in this dimension, so it kind of just sits and waits to join with the other remnants, enabling them to shift back to this dimension as the Original. To help the remnants find each other, they have a homing sense that they will tend to gravitate to. For Sora, it could be where he separated in the Land of Departure, or maybe back on his home world."

"In that case, he could even be in Hollow Bastion where he first separated then?" Riku said.

"That's right...his mind and soul weren't with him in the Land of Departure, so they probably wouldn't gravitate there," Ventus thought.

"We could split up," Aqua suggested, "With our armor and Keyblades, Ven and I could go search while the rest of you take the Gummi Ship."

"Y'know, that sounds like a great idea," said Mickey.

"Yeah, we could go to Destiny Islands," Riku said.

"Then Aqua and I will check out Hollow Bastion. Then we can all meet back at the Land of Departure," Ventus said.

The group agreed to this, but they were so absorbed in their conversation and ice cream, they failed to sense the presence of a dark shadow watching them from behind the corner of the tower.

* * *

AN: Kudo's if you can guess why Hina keeps giving everyone déjà vu feelings!


	9. Restored

RESTORED

Mickey, Riku, and Hina disembarked from the Gummi Ship on Destiny Islands. For Riku, it seemed like it had been a while since he had been home. The smell of sun baked sand, the sound of crashing waves, all brought various memories back to him.

The trio tried Sora's home, then walked around town to see if anyone had seen him recently. No one had. So they decided to check out the smaller island that served as a playground for young islanders. The tree house, the secret spot, the paopu tree: Sora was nowhere to be seen.

Riku leaned against the tree trunk while Hina and Mickey continued to search the other half of the island. It didn't make sense to him. Sora had unlocked his heart to release Kairi's, so surely ever fiber of his being would gravitate back to a place that was special for the two. It wouldn't be like Sora to hide from them while they had so much left to do.

Suddenly, Riku felt a shiver down his spine. He recognized the approaching presence. He turned, giving a displeased glare at the uninvited guest.

"Maleficent," Riku addressed.

"How pleasant, you haven't forgotten me," Maleficent said smoothly.

"I never thought I'd have to see you again," said Riku.

"Now is that any way to talk to an old friend? Last time we saw each other, were we not fighting on the same side to defeat the Nobodies?" Maleficent reminded.

"That was of mutual interest," Riku pointed out.

Maleficent stroked the ball on her scepter with a smile.

She said, "If that's the case, I have another offer of mutual interest."

"Like when you had me capture your princesses? Sorry, but no."

"All you have to do is come with me."

Maleficent rubbed a finger under Riku's chin. Riku brushed it away and turned to face the sea.

Riku responded, "Ha. Like I'd go anywhere with you."

"You want to see your friend again, don't you?"

Riku's eyes got big. He blinked them back to normal before turning back to face Maleficent.

"What have you done with Sora?" he demanded.

"Is that who you're concerned about now, that worthless boy," Maleficent cooed, "I suppose I could tell you where to find him...after you visit my castle."

"You're up to something and I'm not going to play along."

"Is that so? Well then, I'll just have to get you to come by force..."

In a split second, Riku held his Keyblade at Maleficent's chest.

"Don't forget I beat you last time," Riku warned.

Maleficent placed a pointy finger on the tip of his blade and redirected its aim.

"But of course. If you won't come willingly, then I shall humbly retreat for now, _my prince_," she said with a slight bow.

Riku only responded with a glare as she took a step back. Maleficent brought up a dark portal and made her exit, leaving Riku to brood until Mickey and Hina joined him. The duo found no sign of Sora's return, so the three started back for the Gummie Ship, hoping that Aqua and Ventus were having better luck with their search.

"Hey guys! Wait up!" the trio heard as they were about to leave the smaller island.

They turned to see Sora waving at them from a distance. He ran towards them, kicking up the sand behind him. He stopped in front of them and bent forward.

Panting, Sora said, "Didn't I say I'd see you here? Some friends you are!"

Riku laughed, "Where'd you come from? We searched this place a hundred times over!"

Sora scratched the back of his head, "Oh, well, it's kinda weird. After you defeated my Nobody, I found myself in some strange place! It was dark and eerie, I had no clue where I was. I tried to find a way to get back here since I said I'd see you here. Then it was like I was everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE! That eerie place, Radiant Garden, Land of Departure, even here, all at the same time!"

"Sora, you're full of it!" Riku said, knocking the side of Sora's head.

"Really! I was! Then I focused here, and now here I am!" Sora exclaimed, rubbing his ear.

"I wonder..." Mickey said, "Ven was able to travel real fast when he came back too, so maybe being restored as an Original has something to do about it..."

Sora crossed his arms and tapped a finger to his temple as he replied, "You know...that may be it. Now that I'm 100% myself again, I do feel more, well, powerful...Owch! What was that for?"

Hina had walked over to Sora and pinched his arm. Riku and Mickey gave the girl a strange look as Sora rubbed his arm. Hina walked around Sora, then poked his exposed side.

"Making sure you are really here. If you were able to come back, then perhaps..." Hina drifted off into thought. She tilted her head, causing some loose hair to drift over her face.

"Don't worry, it's me!" Sora assured, jumping at her continuous prodding, "I haven't felt this much like myself since...um...slaying the Maleficent-dragon!"

Riku briefly remembered his recent encounter with Maleficent, but soon forgot it as Sora realized that Aqua and Ventus weren't around. The others explained to him that they were searching Radiant Garden for him and the plans to meet back at the Land of Departure. So the group headed back to the Gummie Ship.

Traveling through space, Hina kept staring at Sora. Sora grew nervous under her blank stare.

"It's really me, I'm really here!" he assured the girl.

"You're still in pain," Hina observed, "You smile, but we hurt you, and it lingers on."

"Don't worry about it," Sora smiled.

"You're not alone. Others bear great hurt as well," said Hina.

Sora looked down and said, "I know. That's why I have to keep going, no matter what. I can't let my hurt drag others down."

"But we killed you...twice," said Hina, "You need to release your pain or it will tear you up."

"Release as zone out and not acknowledge it? So he can be a zombie like you?" Riku accused.

"I-I'm not a zombie," Hina pouted.

Nervously, Sora shook his hands and said, "Don't worry about me...it's not my pain I'm worried about..."

"So what is eatin' you?" Riku asked.

"Others who have to go through this like I did...dying four times and maintaining the memory of every death. I'm afraid of what such suffering will do to them," Sora said.

He was mostly implying Riku, knowing that they were going to have to unlock his heart to fully get rid of Xehanort's Heartless inside him. And knowing that Riku gave his all to get Sora back before, he knew he would suffer at any length for the greater good and keep it all to himself. It didn't matter how much pain he could describe to Riku, he knew directly warning him would only make him put up his tough front and go through with it.

"Well, you survived. So the others will probably be able to find a way to too," said Riku.

"That' what I'm afraid of," Sora mumbled, referring to Riku's overconfidence.

Misinterpreting Sora's comment, Riku reassured, "Hey. If Xehanort comes back, we'll be able to defeat him, together."

Riku held a fist out to Sora. Sora looked up at Riku with a soft smile and brought up a fist to knock against Riku's.

Sora said, "Yeah."

Sora, Riku, Hina, and Mickey waited in the Land of Departure until Ventus and Aqua showed up. They were relieved to see that Sora was okay.

"We saw you while scoping out an old castle, but then you disappeared on us," Ventus explained.

"Really? That must have been the eerie place I found myself in when I came back," Sora casually laughed.

Ventus stuck his hands into his pockets. His one hand felt something, so he pulled out the object and looked at it. It was the key Sora's Heartless had found. It was red with the roman numeral eight painted on it in black. Knowing that Sora would have his memories from being a Heartless as well as both of them retaining memories from being Roxas, Ventus held out the key for Sora and the others to see.

"Turns out this is one of the lab keys," Ventus said, "Now we're all together, we can face the Heartless in the room this key unlocks and restore his Original."

"Ansem the Wise did want us to do that if we could," Sora said.

Ventus closed his fingers around the key and said, "I think I once met the Somebody of this Heartless."

Upon arriving back at Radiant Garden, the group got some rooms for the evening. They then dispersed to unwind and relax. Hina followed Sora to help him resolve the pain he was holding inside. King Mickey went to speak with Ansem about matters of science and the worlds. Ventus wandered to courtyard where he first met Lea and Isa many years before and refreshed his Keyblade skills. Riku meditated in the gardens until Aqua came across him.

Their eyes made contact, and they both knew they were thinking about the same thing: Terra. Now that Sora and Ventus were back to themselves, it was Riku's turn to unmerge his heart. The other members of their party were currently distracted with the lab keys and the Organization's Heartless, but for Aqua and Riku, bringing Terra back stood forward in their minds. Aqua took a seat next to Riku.

"Sora remembers how I was before the Darkness took me. You cans sit this one out," Riku said, "If Terra and Xehanort are still merged afterwards, we'll need your strength to get them apart."

Aqua nodded her head. They sat in silence for a bit, looking at the stars and listening to the nearby crickets.

"Terra is still conscious. What does he say?" inquired Aqua.

Riku thought, "Well...memories of what life use to be for him."

"Are they memories of light or darkness?"

"Pardon?" Riku glanced over at Aqua with a questioning look.

"Does he remember the good or the bad? When Terra comes back, will he be the way he was or..." Aqua drifted off as she could not bring herself to mention the alternative, fearing that doing so would make the worse case scenario true.

Hesitant, Riku slowly said, "Well, I suppose the memories from _before_ Xehanort taking over are pleasant."

At mentioning this, Riku could feel his face grow warm. To hide any showing fluster, he tilted his head forward enough for his hair to shield it from Aqua's sight. The bit of news did appear to bring some hope back to Aqua, but seeing him hide his face, she seemed afraid to ask further.

Still, she continued, "And after?"

Riku looked in the opposite direction of Aqua as he responded, "I'm not sure if after is from Xehanort or Terra...but it's dark and painful."

Aqua placed a hand on the side of Riku's face and turned it to face her. She stared into his eyes, deeply searching for traces of her former friend. Was he okay? Was he suffering? Her clear blue eyes were full of sincere curiosity for her friend's wellbeing.

"I-I'm sure Terra is fine right now. He seems to talk louder than Xehanort's Heartless," Riku suggested, "Perhaps, maybe it would be better if we kept them where they were."

"What? Why?" Aqua asked, taking hold of the collar of his jacket.

Riku explained, "Maybe...we have the option to stay like this, where Xehanort is under control. He has many more years of experience than the rest of us put together. Sora and I only fought a part of him at a time and it was still a tough battle. Even when Terra thought he had the original beat, Xehanort still won. If Terra comes back, so will Master Xehanort, and he's sure to continue to pursue his goals. Even your skills have been dormant over time. Do you honestly think we're ready to defeat him like this?"

"But, I just want things to go back to the way they use to be," Aqua said, "Isn't it possible?"

She tried to hold back tears, but her eyes still misted over. Her head sank into his shoulder. At a loss for what else to do, Riku brought an arm up to hold her shoulder and the other to pat her on the back.

"It's okay...Terra wants you to know that everything will be all right," Riku fibbed to comfort the lady in his arms.


	10. Reunion

REUNION

Returning to his room for the evening, Riku found a note on one of the pillows. He picked up the letter and saw that it was addressed to him. He shrugged and opened it. It was signed by Kairi. While reading over the contents, Sora also entered the room and started to get ready for bed.

"Hey Sora...did you give Kairi a key to this room?" Riku asked without looking up.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't even seen her since we arrived. I was with Hina the whole time..." Sora blushed, "er, don't let Kairi know that though!"

Riku crumpled up the note and shoved it into his pocket and started to get ready for bed as well. Sora came and jumped on the bed that was further from Riku.

Riku joked, "Oh, so you're two timing now?"

"No! No, it's not like that at all!" Sora wailed, flailing his arms, "That's why you can't let Kairi know. I don't want her to think that."

"Not wanting her to know is exactly why the situation looks like that," said Riku, "If you aren't two timing, then why would you even consider that possibility? Especially coming from you, it would be more like you to casually say you were with Hina in front of Kairi, not realizing that it would hurt her feelings."

Sora blushed some more, "Well, I guess we've all been growing up. I'm allowed to be more considerate, aren't I?"

"Yeah, I guess," Riku said as he turned off the lights and got into his own bed, "So then, what DID you and Hina do?"

Sora laid down with his hands under his head and said, "Just talked about the different pains we've gone through...bearing them for each other."

"Still hurts, huh?" Riku asked, staring at the ceiling.

Sora sighed, "Yeah...a lot."

With that, the two went to sleep. That night, Riku dreamt that he was back in the Land of Departure. He was Terra, with Flamma standing beside him. They faced their Master. The Master warned Terra that he was too young for the exam, but was allowed to participate for experience. The Master then started the test for them. They fought summoned targets and then each other as instructed. In the end, The Master announced that Flamma had earned her Mark of Mastery and even though Terra didn't, his performance was still promising.

He felt small and young as Flamma approached him. She would be going away and he would be stuck there, still training. It would be hard to maintain what they had built up. He felt himself rise and run out of the hall. With Terra's thoughts and feelings racing through the dream, Riku realized that Flamma was wrong about Aqua being a factor of their break up. Flamma was older and on a different level than Terra. A pupil shouldn't date a master.

The dream continued. Flamma became a master. Soon Aqua also became a master. He felt the insignificant feeling of never being good enough as the dream world around him turned dark.

The dark powers surrounding him seemed to latch on to every fiber of his being. A sharp pain stung him in the core. The pain expanded like a knife trying to split him in half. He struggled and groaned under the attack. Pulled and pushed in every direction, but he held on instead of releasing himself to the external forces. He may not be strong enough, but he was stubborn and would not give up. Still, his soul wished that the pain would cease. But Terra wasn't going to give up. Riku couldn't either.

Riku awoke early the next morning. Outside the window, he could see the pink and orange rays of dawn creeping over the horizon. The occasional bird chirp accompanied Sora's soft snoring. Riku smiled and shook his head at how the boy could sleep through anything. He got up and walked to the window to watch the sun rise.

The serene scene calmed the lingering jitters of his nightmare. It was a new day, fresh and clean. Even after the darkest night, dawn always comes. He remembered before he had made the choice to follow the road to dawn, and that is what he must continue to do. He looked back at Sora sleeping peacefully and thought it was a pity that his friend was too busy sleeping to enjoy this beautiful wonder of nature. Then again, Riku was only up this early because his nightmare woke him. If he didn't have the pain of the dark, would he be able to still enjoy the calm of this peaceful morn? The trial may be hard, but the promise of the rising sun gave a feeling of hope.

While getting ready for the day, Riku came across Kairi's note in his pocket and remembered it said she wanted to meet with him. It was a bit of a shock that the note was for him and not Sora, but Riku wasn't going to complain. The note said where she was, so it wouldn't hurt to go see what she wanted while waiting for Sora and the others to wake up.

Over at Ansem's place, Riku followed the instructions in the note to where it said she was staying. Riku knocked when he arrived at the specified room. He listened, but there was no response. Perhaps she was still sleeping as well? Riku knocked a bit louder. He then checked the doorknob to see if it was locked. It wasn't. He cracked the door open and called out. Silence prevailed.

Something wasn't right. The room was too dark and too quiet. He opened the door wider and reached for the light switch, but the lights didn't turn on. He had a feeling to turn and leave, but the thought that Kairi could be in danger pressed on his mind. He called out again as he stepped into the room.

Suddenly, the door was shut behind him, leaving him in complete darkness. He could hear shuffling and bouncing around him as ropes or chords touched his skin. He tried to push his arms out and summon his Keyblade to sever the impending web being weaved around him, but soon he found himself too wrapped up to maneuver his weapon. The chords tightened around him, causing his grip to weaken around his Keyblade and it disappeared. He felt a cloth across his mouth, being tied tight behind his head.

A candle was lit in front of him. The small flame illuminated a familiar, green face. It was Maleficent, surrounded by a hoard of her goons.

"What's this? I set a trap for a princess and what do I catch? A prince! Ah ha!" the dark fairy chortled.

Riku's comeback was muffled by the gag in his mouth, but he knew full well that she had set this trap up for him. He tried to struggle free, but to no avail.

"Indeed. I have caught my Prince of Darkness," Maleficent oozed, "How fortunate for your little princess that you came in her place. Now she needn't be involved in this dreadful matter."

Riku glared back at her. Maleficent simply smiled wickedly in return. With no more to be said, she gently pursed her lips together before blowing out the tiny flame.

When Sora woke up, he found Ventus, Aqua, and Hina waiting for him. No one had seen Riku, but they figured he might have gone ahead to the lab, and if not, they might run into him along the way.

Even when they didn't see him upon their arrival, they figured they should proceed. Ventus took out the key Sora's Heartless had found. It ended up working with the lock to the middle door on the right. The lock disengaged and they were able to enter the cell.

The only source of light was from the hall behind them, but they could see a dark creature moving against the far wall. It looked like a giant Heartless with black and red coloring. Disturbed by the intruders, the creature slid against the wall. Shackles could be heard clinging as the Heartless tried to inch away.

"Lea's heart..." Ventus recognized.

"His Nobody is already gone, if we take care of this Heartless, he'll come back whole," Sora pointed out.

Ventus nodded in return. The group summoned their Keyblades. The chains of the shackles clinked as the Heartless couldn't move any further in the cell. With its back to the wall, it looked like a cornered animal ready to defend itself.

Ventus took a deep breath before initiating the attack. The others followed his lead. In response, the Heartless moved what limbs it could to knock the attackers away. Still they persevered until Lea's Heartless was vanquished.

Now that his Original would be able to return to the place he was separated, Hina led the group to where human experiments were performed in the lab. As expected, Lea was there inspecting his hands and chest to verify he was whole again. To Ventus, he looked only a bit older from what he remembered, with the biggest difference being how his hair had grown. To Sora, Lea looked like a younger version of Axel without the facial markings.

Hearing the group enter, Lea turned his green eyes towards them. Words could not convey the gratitude he felt for being restored, much less being able to feel anything at all. He blinked his awed expression into a smirk.

"Hey guys. It's 'bout time, dontcha think?" Lea laughed.

Both Ventus and Sora felt a warm happiness overcome them. Lea leaned a bit forward with one fist on his hip and the other waving a finger.

He said, "They still got sea-salt ice cream around here, don't they? Lets get a little extra to celebrate, some icing for the cake."

Excited, the boys nodded in unison. The group progressed to ascend the stairs out of the lab. Hina found the boys enthusiasm to be contagious, but Aqua kept her calm as she followed.

Once outside, Lea continued, "We should go to ol' Ansem's place. There's a nice balcony we could sit on. Sure its not the clock tower in Twilight Town, but it'll work."

Ventus and Hina found it hard not to skip ahead. Sora would have too, but he was distracted by the solemnity he sensed behind him. He turned to see Aqua was lingering behind. The others continued ahead as Sora stopped to check on her.

"Is something wrong, Aqua?" Sora asked.

Aqua rubbed her arm and said, "I guess I'm just a bit worried about where Riku went."

"Oh yeah, it's not like him to just disappear like this...well, maybe it is like him to go off on his own," Sora chuckled, "But he can take care of himself. Hm, I wonder where he went anyway."

Aqua shrugged. Surly he couldn't have run away now that they needed him to get Terra back. Perhaps he needed some time alone to meditate, but waiting still made Aqua antsy.

Meanwhile, Lea, Ventus, and Hina had purchased some sea-salt ice cream and climbed to the balcony of Ansem's place. The boys chatted away while eating their ice cream, discovering both had memories of Axel and Roxas. Now they could do things like sharing ice cream on a tower together again. Their friendship carried on from their Nobody counterparts, but now with hearts. Being Somebodies again, they experienced a fuller feeling that they could only mimic before.

Ventus told Lea about their group reconnecting everyone tied to Sora and soon he'd be with his friend again that he was looking for all those years ago when he and Lea first met. He offered for Lea to join them, but he declined, saying he had his own matters that needed to be taken care of.

Through the conversation, Hina slowly slipped into a daze. Her sea-salt ice cream began to drip down her hands. She rejoined reality by a bump from Ventus as he and Lea started to playfully shove each other. Hina scooted over to give them more room, leaving her half eaten treat on the ledge.

Noticing a third person with them, the guys looked at her. Questioning her, she explained that they seemed like close friends and she didn't want to intrude.

A forgotten memory tugged in the back of Lea's and Ventus's minds. Details couldn't be recalled, but the feeling that she should be there too prevailed. Axel grabbed for more sea-salt ice cream in the bag and reached in front of Ventus to deliver it.

"Hey, we're all friends now, got it memorized?" Axel said with a smile.

He spread the sticks to show he was actually holding three of the bars so everyone could have a second. Hina gave a gentle smile and nod as she accepted the stick closest to her with her sticky hands. Ventus also took one and the trio shared another round of ice cream while looking out on Radiant Garden.

* * *

AN: Smart readers pick up all the symbolism ^.~ not just the ones pointed out.  
And imagine the sidequest of restoring the other former Organization XIII members ^.~


	11. Disclosure

DISCLOSURE

Maleficent led her entourage of goons into one of her castles, the goons pulling the captive Riku with them. They entered a room where Flamma was sitting, nibbling off of a small plate of food. Seeing her, Riku again began to struggle loose, but the ropes only rubbed tighter into his skin.

Maleficent gave a wicked smile as she presented her prey. She then glided to the side to observe Flamma stand and approach the captive. Flamma held the side of Riku's face then slipped her hand behind his neck to pull him into what looked like an embrace.

"I'd like you to trust me," Flamma whispered in his ear, "but the choice is yours."

Riku skeptically narrowed his eyes. Muffled noises from behind his gag illustrated anger.

"I have kept my end of the bargain," Maleficent stated.

"You have. We shall be on our way soon," replied Flamma.

Flamma started to release Riku from his bonds. As she leisurely untied his gag, she again had her mouth close to his ear so Maleficent wouldn't be able to catch the one-sided conversation.

"I've fooled Maleficent into helping us so I can cleanse your heart without you going through all those nasty side effects," Flamma explained in a soft tone.

"You'll have plenty of time to play with him later," said Maleficent, growing impatient.

"Oh, but we need him to get into Kingdom Hearts," Flamma explained.

At the mention of Kingdom Hearts, Riku's anger and strength to struggle returned. The knot Flamma was working on slipped out of her hands. Since Riku was apparently not willing to cooperate, Flamma sighed and gave up trying to untie him. She then turned to Maleficent and informed her it was time for the three of them to go.

Back in Radiant garden, Sora and Aqua ran into Ansem and King Mickey while catching up with Ventus and the others. Ansem informed them that Kairi was down in his study and been wanting to see Sora. Something seemed to be bothering her the past few days. Hearing Kairi to be troubled, Sora hurried down to the study. Ansem and Mickey followed at a walking pace while Aqua went to get Ventus.

Sora burst into the study and saw Kairi sitting in front of Ansem's desk, poking at one of the knickknacks. Hearing someone enter the room, she turned to see the person she had been longing to see. A small look of joy overcame the pain within her eyes. Sora caught his breath and walked up to her.

"Kairi, is everything alright?" Sora asked with deep concern.

Kairi held her hands in her lap and looked down at them. Sora got down to his knees, trying to look up to her face, but she then turned her face away from him. He could hear her take a deep breath.

"There's another side of me," Kairi explained, "and that other side wishes to be independent."

"Are you referring to, Naminé?" Ansem asked, now that he and Mickey had arrived.

Without looking back, Kairi nodded her head. Sora remembered back when the two of them faced their Nobodies. Roxas and Naminé seemed to happily reunite with them. He hadn't given a second thought that they may be wanting their own lives.

"Naminé...isn't doing anything to hurt you, is she?" Sora asked.

"No. She has been very passive in her desires, but they're still there," said Kairi.

"And this has only been going on the past few days?" Sora confirmed.

"By the sounds of it, Naminé has been struggling since about the time we brought Ven back," Mickey pointed out.

"It would seem that our Nobody, Roxas, was more of Ventus than we thought," Ansem concluded, "You lot really are remarkable exceptions to the rule."

"Hey, do you think I could do what Aqua did to me and separate Kairi from Naminé?" Sora asked Mickey and Ansem.

Sora stood up with hope. Mickey and Ansem looked at each other, pondering the possibility. But then they shook their heads.

"What Aqua did was separate two hearts...not a heart from a body," Mickey said.

Dejected, Sora looked down with a sigh. Aqua and Ventus joined the group. Filling them in on what the issue was, they looked stern as they tried to help think of a solution. Ventus had been in pieces for a long time, so he went over everything his remnants had learned.

"Perhaps there's a way," Ventus thought out loud, "to simply reverse the merger."

Sora jumped with newfound hope and asked, "Really! How!"

"Didn't Kairi's body still exist when you had her heart? And when it was released, didn't her heart go straight back to her own body? That would mean that Naminé's body was another vessel. If we could get that vessel back, then Kairi and Naminé should be able to coexist," suggested Ventus.

"But didn't that vessel disappear when she joined Kairi? Do you think another one could have formed when you and I unmerged?" asked Sora.

Ventus replied, "It is possible."

"Y'know? I think that could explain why Naminé started stirring inside Kairi when she did," said Mickey.

The others nodded at this conclusion. If the theory was true, then what they needed to do now was find this new vessel for Naminé to inhabit. Ventus said that since he was restored, he seemed to have gained an ability to turn himself into moving air. He'd be able to search faster that way. Sora then remembered the instance where he was everywhere at once.

Agreeing that Sora would be able to locate the new vessel the fastest, they let him try to repeat the previous incident. It was awkward trying to do it on purpose in front of everyone, but eventually it seemed to work as he disappeared.

While waiting for him to return, Ventus offered Aqua to have some sea-salt ice cream before Lea and Hina ate it all.

On thier way up to the balcony, Aqua commented, "Wow, Ven. You've really grown, haven't you? It's amazing how much you know now."

"I guess I did more than just snoozing while I was asleep," Ventus gave a nervous chuckle, "or at least the other parts of me were."

As they imagined, most of the sea-salt ice cream was gone when they arrived. There was just enough for Aqua and Ventus to have one each, which they still accepted. Something about the breeze or the ice cream put them in a contemplative mood as they started to casually talk about Terra and what it would be like when they got him back as well.

Later, everyone was loitering around Ansem's study when Sora returned with a life-less body that resembled Naminé. Sora then got out his Keyblade, hoping to separate Naminé from Kairi, but he hesitated to strike. Kairi gave him a reassuring smile and placed her hands over his on the Keyblade. They gazed into each others eyes with encouragement as they set the tip of the blade to rest over Kairi's chest.

The lure seemed to work as light began to emit from Kairi's body and gather in a ball around the tip of Sora's Keyblade. Feeling weakened, Kairi stumbled back onto a chair. Sora was concerned, but needed to finish the transfer first. The blade glided smoothly through the air as Sora brought it to the vessel and inserted Naminé's being into it.

Naminé, in her new vessel, blinked her eyes open and looked around the room. Everyone was relieved that it worked.

"Thank you. I don't know what else to say. But I really appreciate this," Naminé said.

Sora smiled. He had restored another person connected to him. Ventus helped Naminé up and Sora walked over to check on Kairi. While doing so, Aqua approached him.

"When you were out searching, you didn't happen by Riku, did you?" inquired Aqua.

"No, I didn't," Sora said. Seeing Aqua's countenance sadden he added, "But there were lots of people I could see all at once, I could have seen him and not realized it since I wasn't looking for him specifically."

"Is Riku gone?" Kairi asked.

"Oh yeah...he disappeared sometime after we got here," Sora explained.

"Oh," was all Kairi could say, as she looked away with a hint of guilt.

"Do you know something?" Sora asked.

Hesitantly, Kairi said, "I promised not to tell...but if he's already gone, then maybe it would be safe to say..."

Sora placed a hand on Kairi's shoulder and asked, "What is it? What happened? Where's Riku?"

Kairi explained, "I don't know. But a few days ago, that other Keyblade Master came to me and warned me that Maleficent was setting up a trap for me in my room. Maleficent was going to use me to get Riku, so that lady encouraged me to write a letter to Riku for him to go in my place."

"You what? But Kairi..." Sora exclaimed.

"She promised me that Riku would be fine," Kairi said.

"I have to go find him. If Maleficent is involved then that can't be good!" said Sora.

He stood firm as he was ready to go search the Worlds again. Aqua stopped him and looked resolutely into his eyes.

She stated, "Don't put yourself in danger. Once you locate them, come back and get us. We'll go together!"

Sora smiled at her and nodded before dissipating.

* * *

AN: There's a possible hiatus for the holidays as I'll be doing a lot of baking and craft-making for Christmas. Don't know if I'll make it online or not, so here's a heads up if I miss a Friday or two on posting this story.


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